Calendar Reminders
The Simsbury Public Schools are closed on Monday, 10/3, for Rosh Hashanah. SMS is open for a regular school day. Students using bus transportation may arrive home significantly earlier than usual (10-15 minutes).
Our October School Mass will be held on Tuesday, 10/4, at 9am in the church. All are welcome. Please remember that no physical education uniforms should be worn to Mass.
School is CLOSED on Wednesday, 10/5, for a faculty in-service. The school blog will be published on Thursday, 10/6.
School is CLOSED on Monday, 10/10, for Columbus Day.
PARENTS AND STUDENTS!
St. Mary's School Day
at St. Mary 's Parish is coming soon!
For the first time since a Catholic Schools Week celebration MANY years ago, St. Mary's School students are invited to worship together at Sunday Mass. Father Matera has extended this invitation in the hope that we will present a large body of children and families to give witness to the awesome spiritual life here at the school.
The date for this grand event is Sunday, October 16th at the 11am Mass. We truly hope that as many people as possible will join us. Although we would truly prefer that this be a “regrets only” event, we would like people to let us know that they plan to attend so that we can plan for seating for the students. Students will sit together and teachers will be here to supervise. PreKindergarten students are more than welcome to attend but they will sit with their families. Students in Kindergarten - 8 should attend in the relaxed uniform (pressed and neat, of course).
As part of the celebratory tone of the day, we would like to plan a simple reception in the Parish Center to follow the Mass. This would be a great Home & School Association activity to sponsor and staff.
As part of the celebratory tone of the day, we would like to plan a simple reception in the Parish Center to follow the Mass. This would be a great Home & School Association activity to sponsor and staff.
RSVP HERE - Please click here to RSVP for Mass and to indicate if you would like to help with the reception. Those able to help will be contacted to discuss details for the reception.
Lifetouch Photography Individual Student Photos are coming home - Photo packages for students in PreK, Kindergarten - 7 will be sent home with students on Friday, 9/30/16. Please be sure to check backpacks. If you have questions about your portrait package or you do not receive your photo package, please contact Lifetouch Photography at 800-582-9413 from 9am-5pm on any weekday or at cmorrow@lifetouch.com. The picture day ID is EJ416010Q0. There will be an opportunity for retakes and/or absence makeups on Wednesday, 11/9/16. If having a retake, the original photo package must be brought in by the student. Group class photos will be also be taken on Wednesday, 11/9/16, for PreK, Kindergarten - Grade 7. The grade 8 group class photo was taken by Paul Cryan Photography.
IMPORTANT CHANGE TO PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCE INFORMATION - Parent/Teacher Conferences for students in grades 1 -8 will be held from Tuesday, October 25 - Thursday, October 27.
Each of these days will be a 12:45pm early dismissal for all students.
PreKindergarten Enrichment is available AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT AFTERCARE WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE UNTIL 6PM. THERE IS A SPECIAL FEE SCHEDULE & RESERVATION FORM FOR STUDENTS IN K-8 DUE TO THE ADDITIONAL LENGTH OF THE AFTERCARE PERIOD.
CLICK HERE FOR CONFERENCE DAY AFTERCARE FOR STUDENTS IN K-8. PreKindergarten students should reserve using the regular reservation calendar since they will be transitioning from Enrichment and will not be using the longer care period.
Please click here to schedule your conference(s).
Kindergarten Conferences will be held in January from Tuesday, 1/17/17 - Friday, 1/20/17. These conferences will be scheduled during the school day and will not be early dismissal days. A Sign-Up Genius will be provided when the timing is appropriate.
Important Calendar Note - Please note that Friday, October 28 is also a 12:45pm Early Dismissal but will have NO PreKindergarten Enrichment or Aftercare because it is a Faculty In-Service meeting not conferences.
 |
| Grade 5 "finches" forage for seed. |
Students in Mrs. Gore's fifth grade class are learning about animal adaptations. Students learned about Charles Darwin and his observations of finches on the Galápagos Islands. Student groups were then given a bag of small food to represent "seeds." The group's were given different utensils representing the finch's beak. They had 30 seconds to "eat" the seeds. Using the spoon and fork was easy, but trying to pick up Cheerios with a knife was difficult. This demonstration showed the students that the finches adapted over time to get their food.
Do you know someone wondering if SMS is the right place for their family? Please encourage them to drop in to St. Mary's School and see the difference a Catholic education makes!
There will be a "drop-in" Open House on Monday, October 3rd from 8:30-11:30am.
Prospective families are also invited to join us for an evening Open House on Monday, October 3rd from 6:30-8:30 pm. This will be a great opportunity to meet our faculty, staff, parents and alumni and tour our classrooms. Please RSVP to Toni Chagnon, 860-658 9412 or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.
Walk In Wednesdays will be held on October 12th, 19th and 26th from 9am to 11:30am.
We are currently accepting applications for PreKindergarten - 8th grade for the 2017-18 school year. Limited seats are also available for the current school year.
There will be a "drop-in" Open House on Monday, October 3rd from 8:30-11:30am.
Prospective families are also invited to join us for an evening Open House on Monday, October 3rd from 6:30-8:30 pm. This will be a great opportunity to meet our faculty, staff, parents and alumni and tour our classrooms. Please RSVP to Toni Chagnon, 860-658 9412 or tchagnon@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.
Walk In Wednesdays will be held on October 12th, 19th and 26th from 9am to 11:30am.
We are currently accepting applications for PreKindergarten - 8th grade for the 2017-18 school year. Limited seats are also available for the current school year.
Does this look like an assessment? It does if you are part of Mrs. Jehning's first grade class. Recently, students played a spirited round of Trash Can Basketball. Each child was asked to provide a true fact about Johnny Appleseed. If they were correct, they had a chance to make a basket in the trash can. Guess what?? Each one of them was successful! Way to go!
Home & School Association News - With our new school year well underway, we are looking forward to several Home & School sponsored activity. In addition to the reception we are hoping to host after St. Mary's School Day Mass (see at top of post), our annual Fall Bookfair will take place from October 25 - 28. Volunteers are needed for both of these events and sign up information will be available soon. Looking ahead, November will bring our annual Thanksgiving Senior Citizen Luncheon. As always, many volunteers will be needed to assist with this event. 
Just in time for the upcoming holiday season, Home & School will be running a Lyman Orchards Pie & Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Dough fundraiser. Order forms are expected to be sent home on Friday, 9/30. Please check backpacks. The fundraiser will run from Monday, October 3 - Tuesday, October 18. Pickup information will be confirmed soon.
CHOICE Program - Meeting your family's CHOICE Commitment is easy!
The CHOICE gift card program is a unique fundraiser for St. Mary’s School. Each year, the CHOICE program makes a significant contribution to defray the school’s operating expenses. CHOICE is crucial to St. Mary’s School because the cost of educating our children exceeds our per student tuition. As with tuition, the CHOICE program is part of your financial obligation to the school. For more information about CHOICE, click here. In the next couple of weeks, you will receive your family's first "CHOICE statement" for this school year. These statements are provided to help you keep track of your progress in meeting your commitment. You will be surprised how quickly your "profits" add up once you get in the habit of purchasing CHOICE cards for gifts, school uniforms from Lands End, your weekly groceries and even home heating oil.
The SMS Spirit Wear Shop is open and stocked with lots of newly designed merchandise. Click here to learn which Spirit Wear items may be worn as part of our daily uniform and which are suitable for recreational wear only. Photos of the new spirit wear can also be viewed. Click here for an order form.
Community News
Northwest Catholic High School invites prospective students and parents to attend an Admissions Information Session at the Avon Old Farms Hotel on Wednesday, October 5th at 7 pm. NWC will also host an Open House on Sunday, October 30th from 1-3 pm. For more information or to register for an info session online, go to NorthwestCatholic.org/InfoSessions. The NWC Entrance Exam will be held on November 12th and December 3rd at 8 am. An application will serve as registration for this exam. Please contact Andrew Selig at aselig@nwcath.org with any questions.
A Big SMS Shout-Out of Pride to the Nolan Family! In August, Mr. Nolan, father of John, Gr. 6, and SMS alumni Tim, SMS Class of '13 and Maria, SMS Class of '16, completed the 190 mile Pan Mass Challenge raising $8.000 to support patient care and cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Mrs. Nolan, Tim, John and Maria all volunteered at the finish line in Provincetown, MA helping riders put their bikes away and serving food to finishing riders. Mr. Nolan has completed the Pan Mass Challenge the last 3 years riding in honor of his brother, Rich, who lost his battle with multiple myeloma in June 2013. |
| Pictured at the Pan Mass finish from left - Mrs. Nolan, John, Maria, Mr. Nolan & Tim. On the far right, Chris Nolan. Mr. Nolan rides the Pan Mass challenge in memory of Chris' dad. |
Students in Mrs. Keany's second grade have been writing about their favorite fall activity and also sharing time enjoying reading.
Please join us in congratulating Northwest Catholic Seniors, Sarah Jessen and Allyson Voelker, both SMS Class of '13. Sarah and Allyson have both been named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Program. This year’s Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT.
We also congratulate Gabriela Doskos, SMS Class of '13. Gabriela was recognized as a National Hispanic Scholar. Every year, the National Hispanic Recognition Program recognizes about 5,000 of the 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT. In addition to being of at least one quarter Hispanic/Latino heritage, students must achieve the minimum required PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score and earn a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher by the middle of their junior year. Gabriela is a senior at Northwest Catholic High School and is a member of the National Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, Math Club, Robotics Club, Varsity Swim Team, String Ensemble, and is a 2016 AP Scholar.
